Page 96 of Into the West

Jelavan pretended to ignore that last comment. “It had been mostly quiet for so long we made the mistake of thinking it had gone dormant. Well, again, to be fair, it wasn’t emitting much in the way of magic, but I suppose that was because it was eating magic, not putting magic out.”

“That’s short-sighted of you.” She couldn’t resist digging the knife in a little deeper.

“Oh, pray, do not remind me. I assure you, inquiries about that are coming in from many directions.” Jelavan made a rude noise. “Oh! What has happened to my memory? One of the Dolls left something for you.” He bounced up on his feet and went to one of the woven vine shelves that had been cleverly bound into the wall. “Here it is.”

Delia recognized it immediately. It was the bead embroidery piece centered by an amethyst that had adorned Doll Amethyst’s forehead. It had been neatly cut out of the canvas of her face, leaving just enough fabric to sew it to something else.

She took it in her hand, marveling again at the delicacy of the work. “I am going to miss Amethyst,” she said wistfully. “But not as much as Kordas will miss Rose, I think.”

“She told me it was too pretty to burn up, and she wanted you to have it to remember her fondly by. And she said to make sure to tell you that it didn’t hurt at all to cut it off.” That last made the last of Delia’s worries vanish.

“So how long are you staying this time?” she asked, hoping it was going to be a while. “And how many of you are there?”

“At least two moons to help with the damage, and two dozen moons with attendant hertasi.” Then he sighed. “You all have so much to learn that we didn’t even think to teach you. We have tools you haven’t even seen yet. And there is going to be so much cleaning up the underground before it’s fit to sleep in again, we may just incinerate. How did you manage to cram that much livestock down there?”

She had to laugh. “I have no idea. I was too busy punting Poomer canisters into the Forest to blow them up. Like you said, ‘Sometimes, explosives are the best way to show you care.’ But don’t worry.” She put the bit of beadwork away carefully in the box she kept her comb and mirror in. “You don’t need to hurry to clean it all up. You and anyone else who can fit in here can stay with me, as long as I’m not usurping someone’s home.”

“You’re not! You are welcome to it!” Jelavan exclaimed happily. “You won’t regret having us in here. We can fit thirty in here! We stack! Oh, should I ask Kordas first? After all, I am a strange being, and you are inviting me to come live with you a while—”

“Strange, yes, but in the best ways. Kordas has no say in the matter,” she said firmly. “I can make my own decisions. To be honest, I hope you or some of the Tayledras can give me an idea how I can increase my endurance when using this Gift of mine. No one here seems to know much about it.” The very idea made her quietly excited. She’d gotten used to being an effective part of a team as a scout. And if I’m honest, getting praised for something only I can do was awfully nice.

“I’m sure we can!” Jelavan said gleefully. “Steelrain knows a very great deal about Gifts, when you can get her out of the armory. Oh, this will be fun! I will enjoy sharing living space with you, Delia, and think of all the things we will have to talk about! I will do all I can to prolong our stay here! I shall run and get my things!”

“And I can tell you all about how Kordas turned to me for help!” she blurted back. “Now shoo!” And off he scrambled, leaving Delia to wait for him, smiling to herself.

It was good to have her friend back, even if it was only for a little while.

And I—I have things to do. Things to learn. Things to become.

“Some people are never going to forgive you for letting the Dolls go,” Sai said, a fortnight later, after the two of them watched a group of sheepish, even contrite Hawkbrothers help some of the other mages strengthen the Veil so that it would last longer before it began to fade, by way of reparation for leaving them to face the Blood Forest. By the time the Veil became ineffective, he hoped they’d have built enough proper buildings that the Veil wouldn’t be needed. And by then they’d have mastered creating smaller versions that could serve as greenhouses in the winter. Most of the mages and Tayledras spellmasters had adjourned to here, a sort of open lecture hall in the Vale, where Sai and Kordas watched from a close-by pavilion. With beverages.

“Some people can learn how to pick up after themselves, and mind their own lives. We didn’t depend on the Dolls so much that we can’t relearn how to do without them again,” Kordas replied, as he waited for the Tayledras to call upon him for aid. Or not. Most of the time he was just left to supervise in absentia. They seemed to think that it was more important that Kordas save his strength and tend to the complaints and needs of his people than contribute to the building and rebuilding going on. Or maybe it was about pride. Either worked.

More snow had fallen, covering the place where Mother had killed the Red Forest, but not before Pebble had gone over it all, evening and flattening it out.

They’d used the spot for the colony’s cemetery, to bury the two hundred-odd people that had been killed in the fight. The ground was soft and well-worked by Pebble, it was in a good spot for such a thing, and it seemed an appropriate use for the area.

Those deaths were probably why the Hawkbrothers were helping now, because if they had even bothered to check on the Red Forest before they “left,” no one would have died. And while Silvermoon had said that death was just another daily thing for them, they sure did take the burials seriously. If there is one thing Valdemarans can do, it’s wring feelings out of people. The Tayledras act like they’re devastated about it, but none of them are talking about it. They and the Valdemarans could have set up an ambush for the Forest, in a place prepared well in advance. Prepare the battlefield, win the battle. We need to work on that. The Forest literally just ran up to our wall. I have some ideas for architecture as channelling traps and time wasters. It would have been a hard fight, but it was one that could have been won without any deaths.

Kordas had felt guilty that he really hadn’t known those who had died that well—but at least they had all been within his Guard. They had all known they were going to be fighting against danger. But still, the sight of each wrecked body as it was put into the ground had devastated him.

But—

Sai unexpectedly whacked the back of his head with an open hand.

“Hey!” he said indignantly, putting his hand up to his abused skull. “What was that about?”

“You’re brooding again,” Sai replied. “You’re going down that same old path of ‘but what if I hadn’t,’ and frankly, it’s getting old. Get out of your rut. Anything could have happened. You followed your grandfather’s Plan. You did the best you could. Most of us are alive and well. Those who aren’t, aren’t. The rest of us go on.”

“That seems—harsh,” he remonstrated.

“Life is harsh. Life is hard. We’re doing well, extraordinarily well, really. Unexpected allies, a secure place to start, and the farmers are raving about the soil.” Sai shrugged. “I won’t say things will be easy in our lifetimes, but we’ll manage for a while, then we’ll do pretty well for a while, and then we’ll thrive. Or a giant rock will fall out of the sky and we’ll all die, but I don’t see that happening. Where’s Delia?”

The abrupt change of subject caught him off guard. “I have no idea,” he admitted.

This time Sai slapped him on the back. “Good! Good!” he enthused. “Then your plan when you sent her out with the scouts worked. She has her own life and she’s not moping around trying to become part of yours. She’s a good girl, by the way. She’ll find her own way.”

He realized after a moment that he actually had not caught sight of Delia in days, and then only in passing. Mostly with one of the hertasi. He hoped that she would pick up some of their skills. Then again, this is Delia. Will I be usurped? How could anything stand against Delia armed with vast skills and experience?